It has long been recognized that certain beneficial effects can be realized from the placement of speaker systems in direct proximity to an article of furniture, such as, a chair or waterbed whereby the occupant of the chair or bed receives direct physical vibrations while listening to the music or information broadcast through the speaker systems. In fact, it is known that to some exent auditory response is possible through the generation of physical vibrations in certain parts of the body, such as, the chest wall if those vibrations are properly and directly transmitted through selected locations in the body.
In the past, a number of approaches have been taken to strategic placement of speaker systems in direct association with a chair or waterbed in an effort to achieve the desired auditory and physical vibrational impulses. A representative approach is that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,023,566 to W. W. Martinmaas in which a loud speaker is mounted in immediate confronting proximity to a loud speaker opening, the loud speaker connected to an amplifier so as to produce vibrations of the air within a speaker chamber which are in the audible frequency range. The chamber is defined by a sheet of material which forms the top of the housing and has its periphery secured to a plurality of connected walls which form a base structure for an article of furniture. A person occupying the article of furniture will receive the vibrations produced within the chamber. In Martinmaas, the chamber itself is defined by the connecting walls of the article of furniture much in the form of a speaker cabinet. A similar approach is taken in U.S. Pat. No. 4,064,376 to K. Yamada.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,085,568 to H. Whitesell vibratory impulses are directed through a waterfilled support cushion by means of a standard loudspeaker or pump directly coupled to the bottom of the cushion. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 3,872,526 to P. J. Betts employs a motor-driven eccentric weight to transmit vibrations to a flexible sheet which is supported within the frame of a waterbed.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,124,249 to C. J. Abbeloos similarly suggests the use of a plurality of loudspeaker chambers for directing monaural or stereophonic sound through an article of furniture but employs standard loudspeaker housings installed in specially formed chambers which define a part of the furniture itself.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,507,816 to G. H. Smith, Jr., a series of speakers are mounted beneath a waterbed so that the sound waves projected from the speakers cause undulations in the water within the mattress. Here the speakers are located beneath the four corners of the waterbed with each speaker enclosed in an airtight, acoustically insulated housing that extends from the floor to the deck of the bed.
Another patent of interest is U.S. Pat. No. 2,821,191 to A. Y. Pai.
The present invention is directed more to the novel and improved construction and arrangement of a speaker enclosure which greatly enhances the sonic and physical vibrational impulses generated by the loudspeaker components and wherein the speaker is readily conformable for use with different articles of furniture but has particular characteristics which make it most suitable for use in combination with waterbeds.